In his letter, Pant further restricted the delegation size to 15 doctors while confirming Mamata Banerjee’s attendance for the talks aimed at resolving the ongoing struggle. “The meeting shall not be Live telecast. However, the same can be recorded to maintain transparency. This will serve the purpose intended from your end, while also maintaining the sanctity of the proceedings, ensuring that all discussions are accurately documented,” the Chief Secretary stated in his letter.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticized the government’s refusal to live telecast the meeting, and questioned its promise to record it for “transparency”.
“A petrified Mamata Banerjee refuses live telecast of meeting with the protesting Junior Doctors, which is a critical demand, for the sake of transparency. The Chief Secretary says the meeting will be documented. Well, the WB Govt couldn’t preserve the vaginal swab of the rape and murder victim of RG Kar Medical College & Hospital. They couldn’t even produce the challan, a mandatory document before a body is sent in for post-mortem, and they expect the Junior Doctors to trust them? Mamata Banerjee is a LIAR. What is she scared of and who is she trying to defend?” BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya posted on X.
A petrified Mamata Banerjee refuses live telecast of meeting with the protesting Junior Doctors, which is a critical demand, for the sake of transparency. The Chief Secretary says the meeting will be documented.
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) September 12, 2024
Well, the WB Govt couldn’t preserve vaginal swab of the rape and… pic.twitter.com/oP9kdaGYn9
The doctors have been holding a sit-in outside the West Bengal Health Department’s headquarters in Salt Lake, demanding justice for their colleague, who was raped and murdered on August 9th at RG Kar Medical College. Their protest, which has halted healthcare services at state-run institutions, is now in its 34th day.
The government invited to discuss the demands on Wednesday, but doctors demanded Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s presence and the Live broadcast as prerequisites. “We will continue our agitation and ‘cease work’. But, we did not want to continue this. The state government is not open to holding any meetings with us. And, we want to make it clear that there is no politics behind our stir,” one of the protesting doctors was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, the government is trying to single out the protesters saying that they shall join their duties by 2 pm today. Malviya posted a government letter on X which asked the protesting doctors to follow the Supreme Court orders and asked them to join their duties by 2 pm today.
After GoWB misguided the Supreme Court with unsubstantiated fake numbers, they are now making grounds for singling out protesting Junior Doctors, to target them at a later date. Medical Associations need to step in and speak up…
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) September 12, 2024
Time to save Medical Education in Bengal is NOW. pic.twitter.com/F4a1IApCm4
Junior doctors have demanded improved security for woman healthcare workers, as well as the suspension of numerous authorities, including the Kolkata Police Commissioner, over suspected case mismanagement.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is investigating the rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, as ordered by the Calcutta High Court.
